The flight to Vasgar was less than pleasant for JD.
The kumis had kept him up for several hours as his body stubbornly refused to accept the fermented milk. Most of the night was alternating between fevers and chills and trying to find a comfortable position that wouldn't irritate his stomach.
After a shower things were looking a little more optimistic. JD managed to eat two slices of dry toast and half an apple, and opted for a cup of steaming mint tea over his usual black coffee. He remembered being a small child with the stomach flu and his mother giving him a mug of lukewarm mint tea to drink while she stroked his hair. He didn't know if it actually did anything to help his upset stomach, but it was a drink he always felt comforting.
Just when he thought he was coming out of his kumis-induced funk, they boarded their Vulture and took off for Vasgar. The first few hours had been a normal, mild flight and JD managed to doze a little to try and catch up on his missed sleep.
Then the turbulence started.
All his optimism vanished after the fourth shaking drop of the Vulture. His stomach was clenched again, and it felt as though a hot burning hand was trying to crawl up his throat to escape.
Another jostling of the plane and JD couldn't help it anymore. He hurriedly unbuckled his seat harness and stumbled to the small airplane bathroom with open desperation. He'd barely managed to close the door before he was gagging into the sink. Nothing came up, but his stomach was roiling and it was making his hands shake and a fierce cold sweat blossomed across his brow.
JD trembled and clutched the sink and dared not to move for fear that any movement would make things worse. Then a hard jolt and a sickening drop as the Vulture hit another pocket of turbulence and JD's breakfast came rushing back up.
He convulsed involuntarily, vomiting once, twice, then a final, weak third time. JD braced his forearm across the bulkhead in front of him and rest his forehead against the limb as he shakily gulped back air. Fumbling blindly, he managed to turn on the faucet and flush out the sink, then using a trembling hand JD scooped up some water and rinsed his mouth.
Much to his relief the nausea had faded abruptly with the vomiting, even as the airplane continued to shake under his boots. All that was left was to recover from the sudden and violent retching and steady himself.
JD stared at himself in the small cloudy bathroom mirror and saw how ghastly pale he was, his skin sparkling with fresh sweat. Splashing cold water on his face helped him feel better, and after towelling off he noted a small hint of pink had returned to his cheeks. Holding his hands out JD saw that the trembling had faded enough to be barely noticeable, and he decided he was decent enough to return to the group in the cargo bay.
Taking a deep breath, JD slid the folding door open and was greeted by a heavily entertained Fahz.
"Want a snack?" Fahz grinned evilly and held up a small container of yogurt, clearly pilfered from the officer's mess that morning for the sole purpose of torturing JD.
JD took one look at the proffered yogurt, let out a choked involuntary groan, and urgently locked himself in the bathroom again. He could hear Fahz's bellowing laughter outside the door and Kait's scolding disapproval as he heaved into the sink.
Only burning bile was left in his stomach but he vomited it up anyway, buckled over as his body spasmed. He coughed and spat and forced himself to take deep breaths, resisting the urge to curse and yell at Fahz through the door.
It took several minutes for his nausea relapse to fade, but when it did JD splashed water on his face again and wiped himself down with a paper towel. He hated that his hands had started shaking again, but he was too impatient to wait for them to stop. The bathroom smelled of vomit and he just wanted to leave the cramped space.
With significantly more hesitance that before, JD slid the door aside. He took a moment to peek around and make sure Fahz wasn't waiting for him again, and when the coast was clear he made his exit.
Fahz had returned to his seat and was gleefully eating the yogurt he'd mocked JD with just minutes before. JD forced himself not to look at the other Gear as he stomped past.
"Feel better?" Kait said as he flopped down next to her.
"I'll feel better when I murder Fahz in his sleep." He gritted out, rubbing his buzzed scalp to try and hide the fact his hands were still shaking.
"I would have stopped him, but he's damn sneaky when he wants to be." She shook her head, one side of her mouth tilting up in poorly concealed mirth. JD couldn't blame her for finding it a little funny. If the situation had been reversed and she was the one with the upset stomach, he might have found Fahz's stunt a little amusing too. JD shot her a forgiving smile.
"I do feel better though." He said thoughtfully. Kait handed him his canteen, and the cold water felt astonishingly good on his newly emptied stomach. "I think the worst of it is over, as long as Fahz doesn't have any more surprise dairy."
They were seated along the side of the fuselage with the massive Grindlift rig taking up the majority of the cargo bay. The large machine rattled loudly every time the plane shook, but the straps binding its wheels held it firmly in place.
Cole and the elder Fenix were on the other side, cleaning their weapons and talking. Occasionally JD could hear one of Cole's exuberant exclamations over the roar of the plane engines.
Dave, the repaired and revived robot companion, fluttered about the cargo bay. JD wasn't sure what the bot was up to, but it looked like it was busy inspecting and performing minor repairs to the Grindlift rig. He presumed it was a task Baird had assigned to the little bot prior to takeoff.
"I wish Del was here." JD muttered, not for the first time. He took another drink of water from his canteen and turned to look at Kait. "This mission would have been right up his alley."
"Exploring uncharted territory to investigate a mystery of unknown origin? Yeah, he would have enjoyed this." Kait agreed, a sad, reminiscent lilt to her voice.
"I think Dave misses him." He pointed the mouth of his canteen at the grey robot as he puttered around the back of the bulky rig.
"I remind you, once again, that Dave is a robot." Kait sighed, slumping back in her seat.
"I know," JD smiled at her. "But look at him. Doesn't he just look…sad?"
"Stop putting human emotions onto something that definitely is not human."
Baird had promised a few months ago that another JACK model was in progress, but other efforts had delayed the project. In the meantime, it had been quicker for Baird to repair the less-equipped Dave. Delta had lost the combat modules that had made Jack so useful in their firefights, but Dave was still a welcome addition to the team.
JD rummaged through his pack and pulled out the blue jar of ointment for his arm. They still had some time before landing, and the doctor had insisted he apply the goo five times per day while they were in Vasgar, rather than the usual three. The harsher climate, with the scorching sun, burning windflares, and dry, coarse sand would not do his new skin any favours. The doctor had even provided JD with a gloved sleeve to wear over his arm to help protect it, but JD wasn't convinced that was totally necessary, and the garment lay crumpled at the bottom of his pack.
The chemical smell of the lotion permeated the air of the cargo bay as JD worked it into his skin.
"Oi mate, do you have to do that now?" Fahz complained, his nose crinkling and pushing the glasses a little up his face. "Bloody stinks."
"You," JD stabbed a freshly gooped finger in Fahz's direction. "Do not get to complain after that yogurt stunt."
"You know, if you'd just let them lop your arm off your life would be a lot easier. And less messy." The Vasgari jerked his thumb at his prosthetic leg. "I speak from experience."
"Sure, but then I wouldn't be able to do this," JD closed his hand into a fist, but left the middle finger up and pointed at Fahz. Kait smiled and shook her head beside him.
"Awful bold for a man taken down by a little sour milk." The other man said with a laugh.
JD had a cursing remark poised on the tip of his tongue, but his father appeared around the side of the Grindlift rig.
"Heads up," Marcus grunted. "Just got word from Paduk on the ground." He held a military green satchel in one hand, its straps nearly dragging on the ground.
"What's the news?" JD asked, screwing the lid back on the ointment jar and tossing it back into his duffle.
"Something's messing with their radios. Almost didn't get the signal through to us."
"Swarm?" Kait asked, a grim expression settling over her face.
"They don't think so. Something else appears to be interfering with the signal." Marcus said gruffly with a shake of his head. "But they warned us their navigational equipment isn't working either. Issue started this morning."
"So what's that mean for us?" Kait leaned forward in her seat.
"Baird seems to think something is weird with the local magnetic field and it's causing the navigational problems." The old Gear leaned against the side of the rig. "The affected area seems to be right around the same place this seismic activity is coming from. The radio interference is affecting the same area."
"So whatever we're looking for just got a lot more interesting." JD moved to cross his arms, but stopped when he remembered he'd just smeared his right arm with lotion.
"So it would seem. Suit up," Marcus tossed the green satchel to Fahz. "We won't be able to land this bird if we get caught in the same interference."
"Please tell me you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting." Kait uttered warily, eyeing the pack Fahz clutched.
"Dave," Marcus barked. The little grey robot appeared from behind the rig, its blue optics reflecting off the heavy metal machine. "Prep the rig for a drop." Without any further instruction, Dave wandered off to begin its work.
"Oh, this is gonna be fuckin' nuts!" Fahz grinned with genuine enthusiasm. He stood and eagerly grabbed for his armour.
"Fuck." Kait muttered, pulling her armour on with significantly less excitement.
"Not ideal." JD agreed, checking the straps on her armour, then giving her a pat of confirmation on her shoulder and turning so she could do the same for him. "But you've done drops before, right?"
"I've done a drop. Singular. And it wasn't by choice. Someone," Kait shot Marcus a quick glare. Marcus was busy pulling on his own gear and didn't see the look she sent him. "Pushed me out of a Condor."
"At least he was nice enough to make sure you were wearing a parachute first." JD grinned even though she couldn't see it. He felt her tug on a strap along his rib cage, ensuring it was snug, then do the same on the other side.
"'Nice' is not the word I had in mind at the time."
Fahz appeared in front of JD, wordlessly turning so he could look over the armour. Despite the constant jokes at each other's expense, they never kidded when it came to making sure they were combat ready. As Kait continued to tug on JD's armour, JD began verifying Fahz's. He caught a few straps that he managed to cinch tighter, then slapped Fahz on the arm to let him know he was ready.
Then came the parachutes.
They were military COG parachutes, designed to attach to their bulky armour. Fahz donned his first, the most experienced parachuter of the three of them. With his instruction, they helped ensure the pack was properly latched and secure on his back. JD gave the parachute two hard pulls to make sure it wasn't going to fall off, nearly yanking Fahz backwards onto his ass in the process.
After ten more minutes, JD and Kait were strapped into their packs and Fahz was diligently verifying they were ready to drop.
With Cole's help, Dave was busy attaching a series of green, fabric bundles to various points on the rig. Cole was holding the satchels in place over designated locations, while Dave used his manipulators to screw, bolt, and even weld them down. The result had the Grindlift rig looking like it had sprouted several unsightly, lumpy growths.
"Alright," Marcus yelled so his voice could be heard over the rumble of the turbine engines. "We'll be over the drop zone in ten minutes. Make sure you're ready to go then."
JD and the others nodded and grabbed their packs of personal gear, strapping them to their chest plates. Pistols were secured in their holsters, and they each had their rifle of choice slung along their sides, the barrels pointing at the ground. Most of their bulkier supplies were stowed within the Grindlift rig, but much of their additional ammo, grenades, and rations were stored at their waists in utility belts, or in the cargo pockets of their fatigue pants.
"I hate this." Kate grumbled.
"I love this." Fahz responded, grinning manically.
"And I…" JD paused to mull for a moment. "I'm gonna have to go with Fahz on this one. I love this." He decided, smirking at Kait.
"Seriously? You actually enjoy this?" She arched an unimpressed eyebrow at the two other Gears.
"What?" He said with a shrug, his smile spreading wide across his face. "It's pretty fun when no one's shooting at you."
"Idiots." She hissed with a roll of her eyes, making the other two chuckle. "If you're going to do any more puking, make sure you aim it away from me." Kait added with an accusatory finger jabbed at JD.
All the excitement of getting ready had made him forget about his upset stomach, and JD took a moment to wonder if their unscheduled skydive would bring the nausea back. He desperately hoped it wouldn't.
"Alright, baby!" Cole yelled, clapping his big hands then rubbing together enthusiastically. "Who's goin' first?" His parachute was a tiny green bump on the back of his huge armour, looking almost too small to be effective.
"I think Kait should have the honours." Fahz said, his eyes glinting behind his sunglasses as he gave her a mockingly courteous bow.
"And I think you should go fuck yourself." She retorted instantly, her face stormy.
JD's eyebrows shot up in entertained surprise and he gave a quick low whistle. "You really don't want to do this, do you?" He teased. It earned him a deadly glare and he raised his hands in surrender and took a small step back.
"The rig goes first." Marcus ordered humourlessly, coming up to the group. "It drops, and then we jump right after it."
"I'll hold your hand if it makes you feel better." Fahz's voice took on a false sweetness as he leaned toward Kait and offered a hand, palm up. Her mouth thinned into a hard line and she ignored him.
"Dave, you're in the rig for the drop." The elder Fenix pointed at the cab of the massive machine. The robot finished undoing the last straps holding the wheels in place, then bobbed his optics—what JD assumed was the robot equivalent of a nod—and buzzed off to secure himself inside the rig. "We need to get into position."
They formed two lines behind the rig; Fahz, Kait, and JD on one side, Marcus and Cole on the other.
There were a series of signal lights around the cabin that lit up in bright red light. Kait shuffled on her feet in front of JD, clearly trying to psych herself up. She tugged on the old mechanic's goggles from their last venture through the Vasgari desert, and JD pulled on his own set. His father and Cole each had a more modern, streamlined transparent set of goggles covering their eyes, and Fahz had attached a strap to his glasses to secure them tightly to his face.
The lights turned yellow and the cargo bay door yawned open. Dry air blasted through the cabin, making Fahz's mohawk blow to one side and Kait's braid flail wildly. JD reached out and grabbed the braid and tucked it under the back of her armour, which earned him a quick nod of thanks even though he knew it was going to come loose again once she jumped.
The cargo ramp extended fully and there was several seconds of waiting, the wind howling around them. Then the lights shifted to green and the enormous rig rolled backwards and disappeared into the open air, tailgate first, the group hot on its bumper.
"Let's go!" Cole yelled excitedly, and they ran down the open ramp.
Fahz barrelled forward and used his last step to vault and do a forward flip, laughing as gravity swept him away. JD saw his father and uncle make their dives, Cole leaping and striking an old Thrashball victory pose as he fell, a vibrant "Woo!" on his face even though the howling wind sucked it away.
JD was right on Kait's heels, ready to give her an encouraging nudge—which he promised himself would most definitely not be a shove—out of the plane if she suddenly chickened out. They couldn't have her missing the drop zone and forcing the team to divert and pick her up.
But despite her previous grumbling about their surprise skydive, Kait made the leap with no hesitation, and JD followed right behind.
He spun for the first few seconds while his stomach tried to climb up his throat. It wasn't the nausea he'd been dealing with all morning, but rather the adrenaline-inducing sensation of being in free-fall.
His vision was a blur of the red landscape below, and the blue sky above, spinning over and over before he could steady his fall. JD spread his arms and legs wide and stabilized himself, letting a grin stretch his face as he enjoyed the blissful moment of weightlessness.
A quick glance beneath him showed the small rectangle of the falling rig, and four figures in a controlled fall like his own. The person the farthest away tucked their arms and legs in and rolled in the air, entering a quick spin before splaying wide again. A slight adjustment of their legs had them entering a wide head-first spiralling dive that was almost more dance than a fall. JD would have to ask Fahz later how he did his aerobatic stunts.
The world below was a ruin of old buildings and roads, swept over with the bold red sand that was so iconic of Vasgar. There were great chasms and sinkholes that had devoured entire rows of houses, and JD pictured the Corpsers and Brumaks crawling their way out of the holes on Emergence Day. Off in the distance a huge swatch of land had collapsed away, sunken deep into a hollow beneath the earth. He wondered briefly if it had been the infamous Riftworm that had destroyed the city.
JD pulled his arms and legs to his side to streamline himself and he closed the distance between him and Kait. He slowed his descent once he was about twenty feet off her left side, and he waved at her, still grinning widely. When she looked in his direction he gave two excited thumbs up, and Kait responded with such a drastic roll of the eyes he could see it despite the goggles on her face.
A plume of green appeared in his peripheral, and JD looked down to see several parachutes unfolding around the rig. Moments later, three smaller parachutes burst to life much closer.
Sad that the best part of the drop was over, JD reached for his ripcord and pulled. There was a moment of vibration from the back of his armour as the parachute unfurled and shot upwards, then a jarring jolt as his descent abruptly lessened. His stomach clenched a little in protest, but there was no urge to vomit and for that JD was grateful.
JD grasped for the handles above his head and twisted around to spot Kait above his right shoulder, her own parachute holding her aloft.
There was a faint breeze off the desert plains and it pushed their descent toward the coastline enough that each of them had to steer themselves closer to the rig as it dropped. It's significantly heavier weight meant its dive was more linear and less influenced by the wind, though it did drift to and fro ever so slightly.
It was several minutes of quiet descent, the warm air of the desert brushing over his new skin in a way JD thought he'd never feel again. It was peaceful and even a little relaxing, drifting along with the breeze. It was almost enough to make him forget about their war with the Swarm, the friends and loved ones they had lost along the way. His chest ached as he thought of Del again and how much his friend would have enjoyed the jump and their investigative mission.
It was all over too soon when the ground rose to meet him, and he pulled on both handles to reduce his speed. JD hit the sandy ground at a run, his parachute collapsing to the ground behind him. He came to a stop and unbuckled the straps where they attached to his armour.
Around him, Fahz was already bundling up his parachute, and Marcus and Cole were still undoing their straps.
Kait was the last to arrive, and she hit the ground with a thwump. She grunted as her legs crumpled and she fell to her knees briefly, the red sand absorbing her weight. Leaving his parachute on the ground, JD jogged to her side and grabbed an arm to help her back to her feet.
"Still hate it." She gritted through her teeth, staggering a little in the soft sand. JD released her arm when he was confident she was stable.
"At least it was a nice view." He offered, but she didn't respond.
Ten minutes later they had their parachutes packed up and had gathered into a rough circle, their weapons unslung and ready for combat.
"We all good to go?" JD asked, looking at each of them in turn. They all nodded. "Then let's hop in our ride and get going."